Family Business
by ponygurl51090
Summary: Peter is all grown up now and has a daughter. A tragic accident forces Peter and his duaghter Maddie to return back to London, only to find that Peter isn't what Maddie thought he was.
1. Around the world

I really didn't want to leave. Things have been really hard on us over the past year, and Dad was just making things worse by making us move to London. That's where my dad grew up, or so he says. Our reason for moving back to London was so that my dad could get back into the old family business. At the time, I had no idea what family business he was talking about. Maybe if he'd told me before, I wouldn't mind moving.

About a year ago, my mom died in a tragic car accident. She was going for a walk one night after dinner when a car was coming around the corner. The car didn't see her until it was too late. She died almost instantly. I couldn't help but be mad. I was mad at the driver. I was mad about not being able to say goodbye. But most of all, I was mad about the fact that my last words to her were "go away." I suppose the last words could have been worse but they seemed pretty bad to me. After she died, everything just went down hill from there. My dad lost his job and my grades started to slip. Finally, my dad decided enough was enough. We were going to move to London and Granny Wendy was going to help me cleanup my act.

"Final boarding call for flight number 510 to London, England" said the flight attendant over the loudspeaker at the airport. My best friend Mandy came to see me off. We've known each other since we were in diapers. She helped me through my moms death.

"You'll be ok" said Mandy, "you always said you wanted to go to London."

"Yeah but I didn't mean I wanted to move there" I said.

"Maddie, you'll be fine. Call me as soon as you get a chance" said Mandy.

"Maddison, it's time to go" said my dad from behind me. I gave Mandy a hug goodbye. I tried hard not to cry but I couldn't help it. The tears came anyways. I waved goodbye to Mandy from the gate. I could see the tears filling her eyes. Mandy never cried. She didn't even cry when her brothers and sisters were taken away. You see, Mandy was 18 and living on her own. Her brothers and sisters got taken away from her parents due to the fact that the state had reason to believe her parents might be abusive. Mandy tried to get custody of them but she lost the case.

I boarded the plane reluctantly and put my bags in the overhead compartments. My dad let me have the window seat while he got the isle. Nobody sat between us.

"Maddie we gotta talk" said Dad.

"It's a little too late for that" I said.

"Please just talk to me. Tell me whats wrong" said Dad.

"You really want to know whats wrong? Mom died, you lost your job, I was about to be expelled, we're moving half way across the world, I'm leaving everything I've ever known and it's all your fault" I said.

"I'm sorry but we didn't have any other option. Trust me, you'll love England" said Dad, trying to act happy about it.

"Right. Learning to drive on the road will be so much fun" I said. I'm 16 and I haven't gotten my permit yet. I know what you must be thinking but honestly, I was ok with not being able to drive. What's the big deal about driving anyways?

The plane ride was long, boring, and cold. There were tons of screaming babies and little kids. The people behind us and in front of us were all asleep and snoring. The flight attendants were rude and obnoxious. And to make it worse, my dad kept trying to talk to me about what was going on with me.

We landed in London a couple of hours later only to be greeted by slushy snow and a limo. From what I understand Granny Wendy did own some pretty expensive cars but she wasn't keen on driving. I had never met Granny Wendy before even though she was the women who raised my dad. She adopted him when has about 12 or 13. A couple of years later, he moved to America and met my mother. She was studying to become a doctor and he wanted to be a lawyer. Somehow, they met at college. I think you can pretty much guess what happened from there. My dad moving to America made it difficult for Granny Wendy to visit. She did come on occasion, like for Christmas and Easter and what not but after awhile she stopped coming. They kept in touch by phone. That's how Granny Wendy offered for us to come stay with her for a little while until we got back on our feet.

It had stopped snowing when we got to Granny's house but it was still pretty cold.

"Grab a suitcase" instructed Dad when the limo stopped. I was about to grab one but my dad stopped me.

"Not that one. Anyone but that one" said Dad. I shrugged it off and grabbed my own. I stood there and looked at the house for a moment. It was almost as if it had been wedged between the two houses on either side. It did look a bit narrow from the outside but I suppose it was bigger on the inside. The stair were wet and covered with snow which made it difficult for me to get my suitcase to the door.

"Now remember" began Dad, "be nice. Wendy is a good person and she was nice enough to open her house to us so smile and act like you're happy to be here."

So I forced a fake smile when a man opened the door. He was tall and had short, dark redish color hair that had turned slightly grey in some areas. He didn't really look that much older than Dad.

"Uncle Michael" said Dad in a cheery voice.

"Peter. It's so good to see you again. Come in" said Uncle Michael, opening the door. The house had a very elegant atmosphere. There was a crystal chandelier hanging in the foyer. There were thousands of family pictures on the tables.

"This can't be little Maddison" said uncle Michael, "you we're just a little girl the last time I saw you." Now apparently I had met uncle Michael before. He used to come visit us when he was doing business in America, but it's been awhile since I've seen him. The last time I saw him I was 10.

"I'm so glad you're here" said uncle Michael, "we've been looking forward to seeing you for so long now."

"We're happy to be here too" said Dad.

"Wendy will be down in a little while, she was just freshening up a little. We bought some last minute things for Maddie's room" said Uncle Michael as he helped me with some of my suitcases.

"My room?" I asked.

"I hope you don't mind but Wendy went ahead and decorated your room. The women may be old but she knows a thing or two when it comes to decorating. Uh, John should be over in a little while. He had a couple of things he had to do at work first" said uncle Michael.

"John's still working?" asked Dad.

"Oh yes. He's not one of those men who likes sitting home all day and have people waiting on him hand and foot. No, he'd rather be out doing something productive."

"Where does he work now?" asked Dad.

"Oh, he works in West End. He's helping out with a new production. He designs sets" said Uncle Michael, "you know Maddie if you're interested in plays, I'm sure John wouldn't mind taking you to work sometime."

"Oh, Maddie practically grew up on Broadway. She loves plays" said Dad. That was true. Before we moved, we lived just outside of the city. I would see a play just about once a month. My mom loved to go with me. After she died, I tried to go but things just weren't the same.

I was about to add something to that statement, but I heard a soft voice coming from behind me.

"Maddison."

I turned around to see Granny Wendy standing in the doorway of what I guessed to be her room. She was old but she was very pretty. Her gray hair was done neatly in a loose bun. She had on a long pink gown that had sparkles and white beads on it. She had a slim, brown wooden cane in her left hand. Granny had on lots of jewelry. She had a long pearl necklace with several rings and bracelets.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you. I've been waiting for such a long time."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too" I said, smiling.

"And Peter. It's been too long" said Granny, giving dad a hug, "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too" said Dad.

"Come now, let me show you to your rooms" said Granny.

"Wendy, you know you can't make it up those stairs" said Michael.

"Oh nonsense, of course I can. If you can do it, I can do it" said Granny, leading the way to our rooms. My room was decorated in pink and green, which I must admit wasn't that bad. It sort of reminded me of my room back home.

"You change it if you don't like it" said Granny.

"Oh no, I love" I said, and I wasn't lying. Sure, it could use a few changes here and there but besides that I liked it. Granny went on to show Dad his room while I explored mine. I had my own balcony and everything. My balcony looked out over most of the city.

Once Granny was done showing Dad his room, it was time for dinner. That was the first time I had ever had an elegant dinner. The food was served on silver treys and we ate off of blue china plates.

"Maddison darling sit up straight. There'll be no slouching at the dinner table" said Granny. I sat up as straight as I could. I found this position to be rather uncomfortable and wanted to slouch but I couldn't. After dinner, I went up to my room. I was going to give Mandy a call but then my dad walked in.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Maddie, I have something to tell you" said Dad.

"What is it?"

"Something has suddenly come up and I have to go away for a little while. It'll only be for a couple of days" said Dad.

"Go? Go where? We just go here" I said, rather mad.

"I know. I can't tell you where I'm going but I'm leaving tonight" said Dad.

"Where are you going?" I asked again.

"I'll tell you when you're older" said Dad, "but right now you wouldn't understand."

"Fine" I said, sitting on my bed.

"Now, be good for Wendy and Michael. I don't want to hear that you gave them any trouble. I promise you, I'll be back soon. Remember, you start school on Monday. The limo driver will take you. He knows where the school is" said Dad.

"Do you know what'll happen if I, the new kid, pull up at the front of the school in a limo?"

"If your embarrassed by it then have park a block or two away" said Dad, "now I really have to go." Dad gave me a kiss goodbye and said I love you.


	2. Neverland

-1 My dad was gone for almost a week. He said he wouldn't be gone this long. I was starting to worry. What if something bad happened to him? I wouldn't be able to help him since he didn't say where he was going.

"Your father will be fine" said Uncle John. Uncle John was sitting behind his desk in the study while I was typing away on my laptop.

"I'm not worried" I said, lying.

"He just had some other business to attend to. He'll be back shortly" said uncle John reassuringly. I think he was talking more to himself then to me.

"Again, I'm not worried" I said.

"Right. So, how was school?" asked Uncle John.

I said "fine" even though I hated it. My dad enrolled me in this nice private school where we have to wear knee-highs and jackets and all. Before we moved, I went to public school. The kids at my new school didn't seem to like me very much. I think most of it had to do with the fact that I was American.

Without saying a word, I closed up my computer and went upstairs. There was an awkward silence growing between uncle John and I and it made me feel uncomfortable.

I was on the computer until it was time for dinner. Dinner was very quiet that night. Normally, dad was the one that did all the talking. While I was eating, I thought about my day at school. It was my 3rd day. All the kids stared at me like there was something wrong with me. Normally I would've thrown a couple of punches but being at a new school and all, I didn't want to start out on the wrong foot. There was this one girl though. Her name was Caroline. She had short, brown hair that she almost always kept pulled back. People seemed to like her. She was one of those girls who could sit with whoever she wanted and people liked it.

After dinner I went back upstairs to finish up my homework. Normally I wouldn't do my homework but I promised my dad I would make some sort of effort. Once I was done with my homework, there wasn't really anything else to do so I got ready for bed. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I over heard Granny, Uncle Michael, and Uncle John talking in Granny's bed room.

"We've got to go get him. He should've been back by now" said Uncle John.

"How are we supposed to do that? I know we've all forgotten how to fly" said Granny.

"What about Maddison?" asked Uncle Michael.

"Absolutely not. Peter hasn't even told Maddison yet. I refuse to put her in such a dangerous situation" said Granny. What danger was she talking about? What kind of danger could there be in running a family business? I knew it was a bad idea to move. We would've been better off if we stayed in New York.

"Perhaps he has forgotten. That's what happens if you stay too long" suggested Uncle John.

"Don't say that. I know he'll come back. He has to come back" said Granny Wendy. The conversation ended there. I tiptoed back to my room and shut the door quietly behind me. What on earth were they talking about? What kind of place would make you forget about your family?

I went to bed with a lot of things on my mind that night. My mother told me to always go to bed with a clear mind but I never did. I had so much going on, it was almost impossible. I fell asleep around 12 that night, thinking about where in the world my dad is.

I had been asleep for a little over an hour when I heard a loud noise. I opened my eyes to find that the doors to the balcony were wide open and my dad was sprawled out on the floor.

"Dad?" I asked, still half asleep.

"Maddie" said Dad, "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's ok. What are you doing?"

"I just got back" said Dad, trying to stand up.

"No, I mean what are you doing on the floor?"

"I tripped over the rug. I was trying to open the doors so it wouldn't be so hot in here" said Dad, but he was lying. I could always tell when my dad was lying. Instead of looking you straight in the eye, he was always look up to the left when he was lying.

"I have to leave again, Maddie" said Dad.

"Why? Where are you going this time?"

"I just have to go but I want you to come with me" said Dad.  
"Right now?"

"Yes, right now. Get dressed. I'll wait for you on the balcony" said Dad, walking outside. I closed the doors behind him and pulled on jeans and a shirt. I thought it would be a good idea to bring more clothes so I stuffed my backpack with some jeans and shirts. I quickly ran a brush through my long, dirty blonde hair and pulled it back.

"I'm ready" I said as I walked out to the balcony.

"Take your shoes off" instructed Dad.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

So I took my shoes off and stuck them in my bag. As I was doing that, Dad took out a bag full of yellow dust.

"What is that?" I asked.

"All you have to do is think one happy thought" said Dad. I gave him a strange look before closing my eyes. I tried desperately to think of one happy thought. It was so hard to find one when you've had a rough year or so like me.

"You hgot it?" asked Dad.

"Yeah." Dad quickly threw some of the dust on me. It made me sneeze and it tickled. Once the tickling was gone, I could feel myself being lifted right off the balcony. I looked down to find that I was hovering about a foot or two over the balcony railing.

"Follow me" said Dad, rising to my level. I followed him without asking any questions. It was so cool to see the city like that. When I was little, I always wanted to fly. I even tried to jump off of our roof at our old house but my dad stopped me. You see, when I was little, I used to be obsessed with _Peter Pan_. I thought that maybe one day I could be just like him and fly off to Neverland, leaving the real world behind. I used to believe in fairy tales like that. I stopped believing when my mom died.

"You ok?" asked my dad, who was a little ahead of me.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Ok, grab hold of my hand" said Dad, falling back slightly so I grab his hand.

I grabbed his hand and asked "where are we going?"

"You'll see" he said, "you're going to love it. Now, hold on tightly."

Before I could say another world, we went blasting through the sky like a rocket. It was absolutely amazing to see all the stars rushing by. We slowed down after awhile, and I could see the sun coming up over an island in the distance.

"What is that place?" I asked.

"That, Maddie, is Neverland."

"Neverland? There's no such place."

"Of course there is. You're looking at it."

The scene was absolutely spectacular. The sun was bigger than I had ever seen. I watched as the sunrays slowly peeked over the mountain tops. There was even a pirate ship in the harbor. When we got closer, I could see thousands of tree houses.

"We're going where those tree houses are" said Dad.

"I'll race you" I said.

"You're on" said Dad, speeding ahead of me. I tried to get past him but there was no beating my dad. He was really good when it came to stuff like this. My dad landed smoothly on the ground. I landed in a tree. When I tried to climb down, I slipped and fell. One of my feet got caught on a lower tree limb while the other just dangled. I opened my eyes to see about 6 or 7 boys surrounding me.

"Who's she?" asked one of the younger boys.

"This is Maddie, my daughter" said Dad as helped me out of the tree.

"Peter pan has kids?" asked one of the younger ones.

"She's my only kid. Maddie, this is Slightly, Tootles, Curly, Nibs, the twins, and Spot" said Dad, pointing to each one as he said their name. All of them just stared at me like they had never seen a girl before.

"Come on" said Spot, breaking the silence, "I'll take you to your room."

I looked at Dad almost as if I were asking "is it ok?"

"Go on" said Dad. I scaled the tree almost as if I had climb a thousand trees before. I was never really much of a tree climber when I was little. I was one of the girls who loved to play with Barbies and have tea parties with her stuffed animals.

The sight from the top of the tree (aka my room) was spectacular. You could see just about everything from their. There was an extravagant pirate ship in the bay and Indians nestled in the forest not too far from us.

"This can't be real" I said to myself, aloud.

"Oh it's real alright" said Spot.

I stood there and admired the view. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to wake up to that every morning.

"Dinner is in a couple of minutes. You can come if you want" said Spot.

"Dinner? How can it be dinner time?" I asked.

"There's a huge time difference between here and London" said Spot, climbing down the tree. Spot seemed nice so far. He was kinda cute too. He had dark brown hair with matching eyes. He was wearing loose fitting shirt, brown paints, red suspenders, and a faded blue newsboys cap.

I laid down on my bed, which was made of feathers and covered with a makeshift blanket. The rays of sunlight peeked through the top of the trees. I could see a few birds and bugs. The birds were singing away, making nests. When I was little, I was completely enamored with birds. Everything I owned had something to do with birds. As I got older, the fascination faded until I lost complete interest.

"Maddie!" called Dad from the bottom on the tree. I rolled off the bed and looked over the side.

"What?!" I called back.

"It's dinner time!" he called.

"I 'm not hungry!" I called back.

"Come on!" he yelled, walking away. I sighed and climbed down. Normally I would've fought him, but I was too tired. Besides, fighting didn't do anything.

"So how do you like your room?" he asked.

"It's pretty cool. You can see everything from there" I said.

"Yeah. I made sure you had a nice view" he said.

"Dad?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

Dad sighed and said "maybe it's time you knew."

"Knew what?" I asked.

"Follow me" he said. I followed him to a lagoon not too far from the little lost boys campsite.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you" he said, sitting on a dry rock. I sat on a smaller rock in front of him.

"You see, when I was little, I ran away from home. I over heard my parents talking to some friends at a dinner party. They were talking about what was going to happen to me when I grew up and I got scared. I didn't want to grow up. I didn't even want to think about it. So, I decided to run away to a place where you could never grow up. I ventured all the way to Coney Island" he said. My dad was born in New York.

"I stayed until the park closed at which time I hid inside an abandoned food stand. I was almost asleep when I saw a ball of light whizzing around the stand. At first I thought it was just a firefly, but then I heard this faint sound. It sounded a lot like a bell. The ball got closer and closer until it was right in my face. I was amazed to see that it was actually a fairy. That's when I met Tinkerbell. She led me to Neverland. It was sometime after that when I became known as Peter Pan. I learned how to fly from some of the nicer fairies. I taught myself how to sword fight. Eventually, I learned how to travel between the two worlds. I tried going back to my parents but the window was closed and there were new children. They had forgotten about me. So, I found other windows that weren't closed. That's how I found the lost boys. They're all boys that were scared of growing up or have been thrown away and forgotten about. After awhile, I got tired of the whole never growing up thing. I was on one of my last flights between the two worlds when I met Wendy. I brought her, John, and Michael here but they didn't stay for long. I decided it was best I went back with them. After many, many years I thought it was time to grow up" said Dad.

I just sat there in shock. I never would've imagined my dad was Peter Pan. I always thought Peter Pan was just a character from a children's book.

"How come you never told me this?" I asked.

"I didn't want anyone to know. Your mother didn't even know. Only 3 people knew" he said.

"Is that the reason why we moved to London?" I asked.

"Part of it" he said, "are you mad at me for not telling you?"

"I guess not. However, I am very surprised" I said.

"Good. For a minute there, I thought you'd be mad at me" he said.

"There's just one thing I don't understand though" I said.

"What's that?" asked Dad.

"Why did you bring me here? I mean, if you wanted to tell me your secret you would've just told me at home" I said.

"You're right. I didn't bring you here to tell you my secret. I need your help with something. Normally I would just do it on my own, but I'm afraid this adventure is too big for me to do by myself" he said, "Captain Hook has kidnapped some of the lost boys and Indian children. If we don't help them, they'll die. Will you help me?" he asked.

"I'll try" I said.

"No, I don't want to hear I'll try. Tell me you will. I can't do this without your help" he said.

"But I don't know how the fight or fly or anything" I said.

"I can teach you. Help me. Please" pleaded Dad. I thought about it for a moment. His eyes had this pleading look that I couldn't resist. It wouldn't be easy, but I could do it. I'm pretty strong.

"Alright" I said, "I'll help."

Dad smiled and wrapped his arms around me. 'He hasn't been this happy in a long time' I thought to myself. Over the past year, Dad's tried to stay happy for me, but it hasn't worked. He doesn't know this, but late at night, I've heard him crying in his room sometimes. Even though I didn't show it, it hurt me to know he was so upset.

"I think you'll like it here" he said.

"You mean we get to live here?" I asked.

"No, we're not going to live here but we'll visit from time to time. We can't stay very long" he said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Eventually, you forget about everything you left behind" he said, "neverland makes you forget." Forgetting wouldn't be such a bad thing. I'd love to forget everything that's happened in the past year.

"I'm getting hungry" I said, "let's go to dinner."

"Ok" said Dad, smiling. We walked back together. It had been a long time since we had done something together. He's been so busy with trying to find ways for us to make it from day to day and, let's face it, I haven't had the best attitude.

When we got back, dinner was over. Those boys must be some fast eaters because we weren't gone that long. Dad found what remained of dinner that night, which wasn't much. All we had was a few pieces of chicken, a few apple slices, and water.

After dinner, we went to bed. I found it hard to sleep that night. There were too many things going through my mind. As I laid in bed and thought about the days events, I stared up at the stars. I had forgotten how pretty they were. You don't see them very often in the city. When I was little, my dad and I would go to this little hill near our house. We loaded up the car with a telescope and blankets. At first, I didn't understand why we did that. Now it made perfect since, because he would always look at one particular star.

After a while, I fell asleep. It was the best night sleep I had in weeks. I was awoken by the sun rising over the mountains. It wasn't exactly the way I wanted to wake up, but it was nice.

I climbed down the tree to find my dad and some of the lost boys eagerly waiting for me.

"What are we doing today?" I asked.

"Today we are going to teach you how to sword fight" said Dad, putting his arm around my shoulder.

"But what about flying?" I asked.

"You'll learn that later" he said, handing me a sword with a gold tint.

"This used to be my sword. By very careful with it. It's very old" he said. Dad and the lost boy led me to a clearing in the woods. The smaller boys watched as Spot and I faced off.

"Be very careful" warned Dad, "I don't want you getting hurt. Right now, just focus on defense." Dad stepped back and let the games begin. I wasn't too bad for a rookie. I have quick reflexes. I know Dad said just to focus on defense, but I came close to cutting Spot several times. Spot wasn't as good as I thought he was. However, he was very good at getting on my nervous. He would make rude comments throughout the whole game.

"Come on" said Spot, "can't you do better than that?"

I tried my best to slice his side, but he jumped at the last second.

"Who taught you how to fight? Your mother?" he asked, sneering. I don't know why, but I got offended. I knocked his sword out of his hand and jumped on him. I was able to throw a few good punches before Dad intervined. He pulled me off of Spot and held onto me until I calmed down.

"I thought we talked about that" he said once everyone had cleared out.

"I couldn't help it. Did you hear the way he was talking about her?" I asked.

"Yeah, I heard. Just because someone said something offensive doesn't mean you should beat 'em up" said Dad.

"Yeah, I know" I said. I had a hard problem getting that concept through my head. I couldn't help it. That's how I handled my problems.

"You were really good today with the sword fighting" he said.

"Thanks" I said.

"I didn't expect you to be that good" he said, "tomorrow, we'll start flying."


End file.
